As you may be aware, the education department is currently in negotiations with the teacher’s union over the next round of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. Much of the negotiation will be over salary and conditions for teachers.

However, there is another aspect of the agreement that, until now, many parents and Governing Councillors have been unaware of; the Resource Allocation Model for your school – that is the rules for how most of the money in your school budget can be spent – is tied into the agreement with the union.

The current model is teacher-centric, out of step with much of Australia and simply not focused on the needs of your children.

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In February, SAASSO met with Chief Executive Chris Robinson and senior members of DECS to discuss concerns regarding how your schools are funded.

At the meeting, two key ideas were discussed:
1. That the Resource Allocation be removed from the agreement with the teacher’s union
2. That the current teacher-centric model be replaced with a student-focused model.

In March, SAASSO released the Term 1 edition of School Post. As the cover story, SAASSO called on the government to remove resource allocation from the enterprise bargaining agreement with the teacher’s union and implement a system that is focused on the needs of your children.

SAASSO experienced unprecedented demand for copies of this issue of School Post.

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In April, as part of its offer to the teacher’s union, DECS proposed removing the Resource Allocation Model from the agreement with the teacher’s union. SAASSO has written to the Minister, endorsing this move.